Would you be my Player Two?
by Llttlelie
Summary: It all began with an innocent spark of curiosity.
1. Adrien

**Ch. 1. Adrien**

It all began with an innocent spark of curiosity.

He had known Marinette since his first day of school, and after coming clear from _that_ slight misunderstanding, Adrien really thought he could call her his friend. She was sweet, thoughtful and adorable, and he felt warm inside every time she stammered around him. It was lovely, really.

However, every intent he made to get to know her better all fell on naught. Not only that the stammering – even if it's an endearing treat – wasn't really useful for communicating; but there was something else about her, something he couldn't put his finger on, that screamed 'Secret!' on his face. The more he tried to uncover it the more she shied herself from it. And of course, the more she tried to hide it, the more eager he felt.

It was there when she thought no one was looking; that look of strong determination that managed to take his breath away every time he caught a glimpse of it. He didn't question himself about the why of his reaction towards it; his sole focus was centred in why she hid it from others.

Then it came the day when an Akuma began targeting her. It was an understatement to say he was surprised when his Lady sent him her picture, with her usual warm smile and her hand in a peace sign, asking him to protect her. Her comment of the Akuma being in love with her didn't bode well with him, although it was soon forgotten when Ladybug commented she had an 'Important Secret Mission' she had to take care of.

Therefore, that left him in protection of the damsel in distress. Well, she didn't really strike him as a damsel-in-distress type, she was more of a… a princess? Yeah, that was more like it

So after saving the picture in his baton – as his Lady had remarked, she was indeed cute in it – he leaped on the rooftops of his beloved city looking for a very specific bakery, the only one that always made him stop whenever he passed by to smell the sweet scent of pastries that came from it.

He arrived just in time to see her walking out of the bakery and talking to Sabrina. She seemed too calm to be the main aim of a superpowered villain; did she even know she was being targeted at all?

For the lame excuse she used on her, she really did.

After the redhead left – _whoa, she really has a temper_ – he let himself drop in front of the bluenette, startling her a bit. He couldn't resist the urge to tease her a bit, something he wouldn't even think about when he was Perfect Adrien, and he dropped to one knee, kissing her hand. Her really soft and delicate hand.

She immediately tucked it away. Ah, what a shame.

So he continued flirting with her – something he blamed his Chat Noir persona entirely –, watching her every reaction carefully. She answered as any other fangirl would when facing him, but there was something… off.

There it was! That twinkle of amusement in her blue eyes whenever he made an over the top commentary, and the twitching in the corner of her lips trying not to laugh. When he turned around showing off and looked from the corner of his eye, she could see her making faces, something she stopped doing as soon as he turned again to face her, having once again the façade of the perfect fan.

She turned around and couldn't leave the amusement off her voice when she asked "What about Ladybug? Aren't you a duo?"

Some part of his mind registered that he had completely forgotten about his Lady, but it was quickly buried deep in his awe for discovering a new part of his friend. She was teasing him. Sweet, shy Marinette was teasing him, Chat Noir.

Oh, what a day to be alive.

He explained his plan to her – it was pretty simple, really, it consisted on distracting the Evillustrator and taking away his pencil, he aiding her whenever she needed it. Simple, yet effective. After making sure she'd understood, he made a flashy exit, just for his ears to pick up the cutest giggle coming from her mouth when he was leaving.

Some hours later, he observed how she embarked the decorated boat and followed them as the Evillustrator took them on a romantic cruise at the Seine. He was surprised to feel the pang of annoyance when he watched her get all… _cozy_ with him, and he might had to remain himself his priorities once or twice, but he calmed down whenever he caught her focused gaze. _Huh, take that Evillustrator._

He landed neatly on the cabin's roof, and watched how neatly she handled the situation, her mind focused on stopping the Akuma's feet and not letting fear overtake her. But there was so much a civilian could handle, even someone as brave as Marinette, so when the plan failed and the Evillustrator began threatening her, he was almost certain she would recoil and return to her shy self.

Oh, how wrong he was.

Because instead of cowering in fear and dropping the pencil, her grip on it tightened and stomped with her foot "Come on! Seriously? Why is everybody comparing me to Chloe tonight?"

To say he was impressed is an understatement.

Then the Akuma tricked them and both of them ended up stuck on a glass box, but of course she thought of a plan to get out. She was clever like that.

He tightened his grip on her waist, and she dropped her fangirl façade to take his hands out of her waist and grabbing him by his shoulders instead. He then followed her plan – that obviously worked – and caught her bridal style in the air, being careful not to harm her.

Huh, she smelled really good. As sweet as the bakery she lived in.

(He would not admit the smug satisfaction he felt at her surprised expression once she realized in what position she was being held. It was just so fun to tease her).

Once his feet touched the ground, even if he was having a great time, he had to drop Marinette soon and leave to complete his mission, as the Evillustrator had threatened Chloe again – really, how many times can someone be the main target of the villain?

However, the image of her handling the evil headfirst would linger in his mind for quite some time, even if she returned to her shy self the next day at school.

He was fascinated by her. Adrien began noticing things he didn't notice before – how her little nose quirked when she was focused, and how the tip of her tongue poked out of her soft-looking lips when she was designing. The way her dark hair seemed to glow under the sunrays and her doll-like eyes seemed to be a constant stream of warmth.

Adrien also had caught himself once or twice wandering around the _Boulangerie_ when he was on a solo patrol, realising where he was after sitting on the edge of the building in front of her room for at least five minutes, looking at her. He'd quickly stand up and leave, but in his mind would linger the image of her with her hair loose and damp, her hands handling fabrics as if they were precious things.

Plagg had begun picking up in his little 'obsession', as he called it – _shut up, Plagg it's not an obsession; I'm just interested in knowing more about her, nothing else_ – and began teasing him mercilessly, saying that he 'called it' after the 'umbrella scene'. He obviously denied it all.

He didn't want to put a name to what he felt for her. He really didn't want to, because if he did, it would become real, and there was only place for his Lady in his heart, no matter how adorable or sweet or compassionate she was, or how much he lo-

Stop that line of thinking, Agreste.

So he kept on with his normal life, trying to hide his growing attra- _curiosity_ towards the designer, hoping that once he got to know her fully, that strange feeling would fade away. However, the more he knew about her, the more interesting she became in his eyes.

Plagg would argue he was in denial, something he would deny, of course.

But there were things he couldn't deny after seeing her quirky side in their last adventure together. He had loved to discover that, despite being half-Chinese, she couldn't speak it to save her life, and he had enjoyed very much helping her with her uncle, as he was able to see once again the fiery spirit hidden inside her delicate-looking body.

He had loved having dinner with her that night, as her uncle wanted to thank both of them and prepared his award-winning soup to them. She almost didn't stammer a single word in the whole intercourse, something he felt both proud and slightly upset about, as he secretly enjoyed when she became a ball of nerves and her mouth ran wild.

The last thing he'd discovered and loved had been her interest in videogames. Adrien could count with the fingers of one hand how many friends he'd had before joining school, and none of them liked videogames. Nino had been a breath of fresh air, as he shared his passion for them, but he couldn't help but feel giddy when she shyly asked if she could give it a try. He was so ecstatic he even lent her his controller.

And boy, she was _good_. Her thin fingers seemed to fly over his controller, her mount chanting combos at the same time her bot did them flawlessly, and going by the commotion in the whole library, no one had expected her to beat Max.

Oh and her little victory dance? It was adorable.

So that's how they both ended classifying for the Ultimate Mecha Strike III tournament together. It was a cooperative tournament, what meant they had to train. Together. As in one sitting beside the other.

They decided to meet at her house later, and Adrien was ecstatic. The tournament had given him the chance of seeing her room for the first time (without seeming a shady creep), and if he was lucky, he would be able to taste those delicious-looking pastries he saw whenever he passed by.

Marinette's parents received him, and they soon fell in a pleasant conversation. He was happy to learn that Marinette's passion for gaming came from her father, and felt a little pang of jealousy for the happy family. What would he give to have a home even half as warm as this one.

Then Mrs Cheng commented that Marinette talked a lot about him. That surprised him at first, but then a warm feeling spread to his chest. Marinette talked about him, and by their faces, it was good things.

He was glad Marinette interrupted them, as he was a few seconds from blushing. He followed her to her room, and he could swear he heard awes behind them. The Dupain-Chengs approved of them, it seemed.

N-not that he needed their approval.

Marinette's room was bigger than he expected. It all had a pink tint that reflexed the sweetness of the girl inhabiting it, and he could see some scraps neatly piled up at the corner, surely from some project of hers. Eyeing the walls, he tilted his head slightly – he could've sworn he'd seen something hanging on them some nights before.

"Here, Adrien." He turned his head to look at an already sitting Marinette and he mentally kicked himself. _Stop snooping around and get to it, Adrien._

He made his way to her computer and sat beside her, trying to play it cool. The two controllers were in front of them; he reached for one of them, but before grabbing it, he felt something soft and warm hand landing on the back of his. They both tucked their hands away and giggled nervously, Adrien rubbing the back of his head.

"S-sorry." She stuttered. _Good job, Adrien. You're making her feel uncomfortable._

"No, you go!"

 _Let's try again._

"I'll just choose the other one-" they both said in unison and reached for the other controller, not predicting that the other would do the same. They once again joined hands and tucked them away as soon as they made contact another time, feeling self-conscious.

Adrien fought a blush as he reached for the controller further away from him, and saw Marinette reach for the other one. Both of them threw themselves into the game, tension still present between them. _I need to think of something to talk about._ Adrien thought eyeing Marinette. _Or I'll make things way too awkward._

"Your parents seem nice." _Way to go, Agreste_

She smiled at him. He adored that little smile. "Oh, yeah, they are. But sometimes…" suddenly, she made a tiny shriek, and when he moved his gaze from the screen to her she had her arm thrown behind her chair's back and was looking at him sheepishly. Wait, was there something wrong?

"Sometimes what?"

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, and Mr Dupain opened the hatch of the room, carrying a steaming plate of recently-made croissants. His mouth salivated at the smell, but Marinette didn't seem in the mood for croissants right now. He was a little sad to let the pastries go, but he supposed he would have time later to give them a try.

When her father closed the hatch, he heard Marinette sigh. "Sometimes my parents can be a little nosy." He heard a soft noise again, but at the time he turned around he only saw Marinette smiling sweetly at him. He returned the smile. "Where were we?"

Adrien mentally took a breath of relief. The awkward atmosphere around them had long since vanished, and Marinette seemed to relax beside him. He got immersed into the game, and he couldn't help but notice how their styles of playing seemed to complement each other, making them win round after round.

Still, Marinette was the one who made most of the fatal blows at their enemies, but he was proud to say he assisted her quite well, giving her cover when she was preparing a really difficult combo.

The screen flashed, showing yet another victory for the two, and they both cheered.

"We won again! Thanks to you."

She giggled "Yeah! Um, yes we did."

"We? That was practically all you." He pushed himself away from the table and rested the back of his head, and shot her a self-depreciative smile. It was no secret she was way better than him. "You're amazing, Marinette. I guess you wouldn't even need me. I'm so lame compared to you."

She looked shocked at his words, and her mouth began running wild, something she hadn't done in a long time. Her hands moved frantically. "Um, uh, no, no, no! Um, I- no! You're so good. I mean, I'm the one who's not good- I mean, uh, I'm lucky, that's all." She shrugged, smiling.

She's stammering again! Would it sound so bad if he said he'd missed it?

The hatch of the room opened up again, showing Mr Dupain, but this time with a tray of delicious cookies. His head perked up, his mood instantly forgotten for a more important task in hand. He _had_ to try those cookies.

"Anyone wants cookies? Right out from the oven!"

 _Right out of the oven!_ He might die in happiness.

Marinette seemed to think otherwise.

"Papa, we're trying to work here."

 _Bye, bye, cookies. I'll see you soon._ Adrien thought with a longing gaze as Mr Dupain took them away. He made a mental note to buy some when they finished. And some croissants too.

Marinette's face seemed to glow when she turned back at him with a huge smile. "Actually, you know what? I've got a secret." She reached for her pocket and took out what seemed to be an amulet. "This is why I win."

"Are you messing with me?" he asked, because there was no way she was _that_ good because of a good luck charm.

"Try playing a match with it."

She seemed so eager that Adrien was unable to tell her no. He reached out and grabbed the amulet from the palm of her hands, his fingertips brushing her skin. Was it weird to have a sudden urge to grab her hand?

Before he could ask her to do just that (and much to his relief), the hatch opened again, and both of her parents showed up. Mrs Cheng smiled sweetly at them, a pie in her hands.

"How about a delicious quiche? You can tell me what you think of it."

It was the perfect opportunity! And it looked so good! He decided to go for it and stepped in "Um, Marinette, a little snack wouldn't hurt, would it?"

She looked hesitant at first, but then nodded in agreement. Yes!

They decided to have their break in the park near her home, so they could have their homemade quiche while enjoying the beautiful day outside. It looked a bit like a date, but he didn't mind. On the contrary.

"I'm really sorry." She apologized "It's impossible to get anything done with my parents around."

"It's okay." He bit down the quiche and had to stop himself before engulfing the whole portion. It was so _good_! "I didn't know your mother makes such an awesome quiche."

She seemed to like his compliment for how her eyes twinkled. Of course she'd liked it; it was as clear as the day she loved her parents, so hearing her friends say good things about them would make her proud, as if it was her the one who made it. He couldn't help falling a bit more for her.

Wait, what?

When they finished their snacks, they decided to return to her room, but before they could even stand up people around them began screaming and running, just for some of them ending up becoming a green glowing ball of energy.

Adrien looked up to see a robot he could swear he'd seen before in the character selection of UMS III. The machine – most probably an Akuma – absorbed the bright lights and it seemed to quiver.

"Tell me this is some kind of publicity stunt for the tournament." Marinette said and, as he'd expected, there was no fear in her voice, just a mix of surprise and concern.

He glowered at it. He needed to transform as soon as possible. "Doesn't look like a publicity stunt to me."

Then, Adrien noticed that the bot had turned slightly in their direction, almost as if it was aiming at them. Before it could act, he put his arms around the bluenette and jumped forward, narrowly missed a ray, everything thanks to his enhanced agility.

They landed on the floor roughly. He raised his body slightly to look at Marinette under him, and he couldn't help but blush at their position. It also reminded him of a certain Ladybug and how many times they'd ended up in similar positions, even though his Lady would be frowning at him, not looking back with the biggest blue eyes in the history of blue eyes, a soft blush tinting her freckled cheeks.

 _Akuma. Stand up. Now._

He grabbed her hand and helped her stand up, instantly breaking for a run after she was upright. They began avoiding the rays, his grip tightening in her hand. He didn't want to hurt such delicate hands, but he _needed_ to get her to safety.

However, the shots seemed to catch up with them, and one of them fell too close for comfort. Her hand slipped from his, and he looked at her alarmed, only for her to return the same look.

In the lapse of half a second, he pondered his two options. He could join her again and try to make a break for it, but he knew that with his civilian speed and strength, although improved after becoming Chat Noir, was way too out of league for an Akuma.

That left him with choice number two, which was to hide and transform into Chat Noir. The downside? He left her vulnerable from when they split until he found her again.

There really was only one choice to make.

Splitting up, he watched in horror how the robot began following her, and he realized why it was so fixated in her. Great, Max had been Akumatized, and he now sought revenge. Just peachy.

He let Plagg out of his shirt and nodded seriously at him "Time to transform. Plagg, claws out!"

Just as he finished transforming, he used his baton to get to the rooftops. This Akuma was big, but he would have a better chance of finding Marinette from above. He began running at the direction of the robot, glad that it hadn't gone so far, and for his dismay, he could see a pink dot running in front of it.

The mecha leaped in front of her, stopping her in her tracks, and he cursed for still being too far away to attack it. As he increased his pace, he lost sight of Marinette, but the robot seemed to aim at someone. He grabbed his baton and threw it at it.

"Game ov-" He managed to stop him in the middle of the attack _and_ his speech. God, he loved being a superhero.

"Not yet." He raised an arm mockingly "Here comes a new challenger!"

He jumped down and landed crouched in front of the robot, his guard up and ready to fight. However, a sweet voice distracted him.

"Chat Noir, hey! Over here!"

He turned around and there she was, safe and sound (more or less). He jumped and made a barrel roll ( _what? It's a good move for evading flying attacks_ ), avoiding the Akuma's attacks and landing in front of her, a smirk adorning his face. _Here we go._

He grabbed her from her waist and stood up, clutching her close to him. Her arms held him tightly in a hug when he began running. She buried her face on his neck, and he could feel her agitated breathing against his bare skin.

His heart sped up as they leaped from car to car, then to a lamppost and the top of a building. He could have left her there, but something in him screamed against the very idea, hissing possessively. He needed her safe. He needed her by his side. He wanted to never let go.

So he kept on running even if he could have stopped a while ago, cherishing the feel of her around him, her sweet aroma filling his nostrils and enchanting him. She was his and only his.

One hand of hers ventured to the back of his head, and he could barely stifle the groan of pleasure that came from his throat. She felt her sigh against him, her clutch tightening around him.

The other part that was centred in his superhero duty? Oh, it had long since fallen for the charm of the girl in his arms.

 _Boy,_ Plagg talked to him mentally, something he barely did once transformed. _I get it that you want to run away with your Princess, but focus on what's really important. We can visit her later._

Right, the Akuma. He had completely forgotten about it. His eyes fell on Chloe's hotel and landed there. He made sure she put her feet on the ground, and never put his hands away from her petite waist.

She looked at him in the eyes, and there was a moment of tension between them. Her eyes conveyed so much in a look he was almost impressed, and he had to refrain himself from taking her in his arms again and never let go.

 _Boy._ Plagg warned.

He cleared his throat and threw her an easy-going smirk, letting her go. He already missed her contact.

"I heard Ms Videogame champion really ticked off the final boss." He teased, mentally pleading her to act as nothing had happened at all. There was a loose Akuma in the streets of Paris he needed to stop, and Ladybug would need his help.

Something glinted in Marinette's eyes, showing that she understood what he was asking for, and she crossed her arms "Well, it doesn't give him extra points to go transforming everyone."

He could kiss her for that. Maybe he would later.

He nodded and walked to the edge of the building, getting ready to jump when her voice stopped him.

"Hey wait, Chat Noir!" He turned around and looked in confusion at her distressed face. "I left my friend Adrien at the park. He could be in danger, we have to go back!"

It was there. Just there, both of them standing in a deserted terrace when Adrien realized he was in love with her. His insides filled with a million of emotions at her words, and he felt at a loss of what to do.

There she was, as radiant and warm as the sun, as beautiful as the sunset. He didn't deserve her attentions towards him, neither as Adrien or Chat. But, no matter how unworthy he felt for her, he couldn't help but feel light-headed just from being around her.

He snapped out of his stupor, realizing he had yet to answer her "Uh, don't worry. Adrien's not in danger. He'll be fine." With all those butterflies inside his stomach? He doubted it. "You'll be safe here, just stay put." He couldn't help it; he began flirting with her and winked. It was his second nature "Don't worry, Chat Noir's taking care of everything. I should leap and do a barrel roll!"

He leaped to the void, but he felt like he was floating.

* * *

After dealing with the Gamer and purifying Max, Ladybug and he parted ways. He had gone straight to his room, his mind full of blue eyes and freckled cheeks. He made sure to send Marinette a message to assure her he was alright, as she had been so worried about him before, and she answered minutes later.

He made his way to the bathroom, opting for a quick shower as Plagg ate his share of Camembert. He stepped out only in his sweatpants, rubbing his hair with a towel, and let himself drop on his neatly made bed.

"I'm not one who enjoys saying 'I told you so', kid." Plagg said between bites. He swallowed. "But I told you so."

"I know." He replied softly, looking at the ceiling and a soft blush covering his cheeks.

"It was so obvious you were falling for her it was almost painful to watch. You were about to get kissy in the suit! I think the only ones that hadn't realized until now were the both of you."

Adrien groaned and took his pillow, burying his face in it.

"How am I going to face her tomorrow? Knowing my bad luck, I'm sure I will mess up somehow, showing my Chat side around her and letting the cat out of the bag; or worse, acting like a complete fool so she'll want to stay as far away from me as possible. How will I survive this?"

Silence fell between them, Plagg munching his cheese and Adrien deep in thought, sighing once or twice. Suddenly, Plagg spoke up.

"Would it be so bad?"

Adrien raised his head to look at his Kwami. "What would?"

"Her knowing you identity." At his confused stare, he elaborated. "What I meant to ask is, would you trust her with your identity?"

The blond boy opened his mouth to give an instant reply, but closed it again, giving it some thought. After a while, he answered. "I would love for Marinette to know both sides of me… but not now. I can't be sure if she'll be safe knowing something like that. Hawkmoth is a real danger, and I'd hate myself if I ever put her in even more risk because of my selfishness." He frowned. "Moreover…"

"What?"

"… Would she really like to know?" he asked, self-conscious.

The bad luck Kwami deadpanned. "You're actually kidding me right now, right?"

"What did I say that's so hard to believe?" he demanded defensively.

"You're doubting she likes you?" he raised an eyebrow.

"… Yes?"

He scoffed. "You're a stupid kitten." He dropped his cheese and floated to his face. "Listen to me carefully, kid; I'm going to say this just once. The girl's head over heels about you! I mean, she's been a literal stuttering mess around you these months? Didn't you notice all her blushing? The side glances? Are you really that _blind?_ "

Adrien really thought about their interactions with a new light. The more he thought about it, the more his cheeks heated up. He bit his lip and groaned, burying his face once again in the pillow.

"I'm stupid." He mumbled.

"I know."

He uncovered his face, seriousness returning to his face. "But even if she likes Adrien, he's more of a mask of me than Chat Noir is, and if she doesn't have any feelings for him-"

"You're actually being _serious_ here?" Plagg roared. Adrien stared stubbornly to the front until the little god yanked his face to make him look down at him.

"Adrien, quit underestimating yourself for five minutes and listen to me, okay? I'm not going to address the everlasting discussion of 'Adrien is Chat as Chat is Adrien' because we both know we won't get anywhere, so I'm going to explain it to you in another way."

"I am an ancient being, Kid, and in all my existence I've seen way too many sappy love stories. Some had a happy ending, other ones ended in despair, but I've aided a lot of love-struck kittens to know the signs of people in love, and she has them all. And," he raised a paw before he could protest. "She has them with both of you."

He raised an eyebrow at that. "I can accept she could harbor feelings for me as Adrien, but how could she possibly have feelings for Chat too? How could she possibly love two different people?"

"The way you love both her and Ladybug. It's the same, kid, even if you want it or not."

He still looked unconvinced. Plagg snapped.

"You know what we're going to do?! You're going to transform into Chat Noir and pay her a visit. I'm not finished!" He exclaimed before he could protest. "You're going to tell her you've passed by to check on her or whatever, I don't care, and _then_ we're going to stay in her room until you realize how stupid you're being right now. Did I make myself clear?"

Adrien nodded speechless.

"You owe me so much cheese, kid." He rubbed his temples. "I'm not made for this. Tikki's the one that gives love advice, not me."

Adrien called for his transformation, his mind oddly made up, and he followed the familiar track to her home. Once he reached his usual spot, he looked through the window. The light of her nightstand was the only source of illumination of her room, and he observed how she absentmindedly combed her midnight locks.

Breathing in, he landed softly on her balcony and knocked at the trap door, waiting for her to open the hatch. He could hear her soft steps climbing up the stairs, and when she opened the hatch, he could feel all his breath leaving his lungs.

She was the most precious thing he had seen in his life. Glossy lips, silk hair, porcelain skin, everything about her was perfect. Her clear eyes bore into his, and he wondered what was she thinking.

She opened the hatch fully, and she smiled at him. "Do you want to come in?"

"Yes." He answered, letting the content he felt since he'd landed in her balcony shine through.

She climbed down and he followed her. When her bare feet touched the ground, she made her way to her chaise and sat down, resuming her combing. As much as he loved watching her, he had been curious about something since that afternoon. He made his way to a basked full of cloth, and what he saw there made him chuckle softly.

It was a picture of him, framed and all. So she did like Adrien after all.

He quickly left that spot so she wouldn't grow suspicious, and he could feel her eyes on him. The thought of it made him shiver.

"Are you going to sniff around every corner of my room, alley cat?" She teased him. _An opening!_

He grinned cheeky at her. "I might do just that. Then I can claim that place as my own and be by my Princess' side forever."

She rolled her eyes, but she could see the softest of blushes on her beautiful cheeks. A small victory.

"So what brings you here, _Chaton_?"

Since when did she call him Chaton? He really liked that term of endearment coming from her mouth. Wait, she'd asked a question, right? What was his excuse again?

"I merely wanted to check out on you, see if you'd made it." Not that he already knew because she had told him so in her message. Well, what she didn't know couldn't hurt her. "I hope you didn't have any difficulties getting out the hotel?"

She smiled secretively at that. "I managed just fine. Thank you for your concern." She then placed the comb on the chaise and stood up, walking towards him and stopping one feet away from him "And I have to thank you for getting me out of there earlier, even though you didn't have to. And for helping Adrien too. He texted me earlier and told me you aided him, so thank you."

Why was she so frigging sweet? If she kept on worrying about him, he will have difficulties not slipping up. Or refraining himself from hugging her.

"O-oh, yeah. Adrien. I found him on my way back to fight the Gamer. Piece of cake." Crisis averted. Now for the pretty lady in front of him… "And it was an honour to carry you to safety, Princess." He kneeled to the floor and grabbed her hand, kissing it. "This knight's first priority is your well-being, after all."

Oh, she blushed scarlet at that. God, how he loved her.

"O-okay." She stammered. _She stammered!_

He stood up, not releasing her hand but intertwining their fingers, and she became jittery and nervous under his gaze, and he couldn't help but smile smugly at her. He made her nervous! She had stammered, and for her growing blush in her cheeks, he could guess she liked his pampering. What meant there was a chance she liked him! Ha!

He could fly to the moon and back.

She averted her gaze to their joined hands, her fingers absentmindedly playing with his Miraculous, her blush slowly receding. Despite the silence, he felt quite comfortable, how could he not? He was in a cosy room, with his loving Princess, and he couldn't feel warmer inside.

She made a soft gasp then, and he could feel curiosity nagging him. What was she thinking about?

He placed a hand on her cheek to call for her attention. "Penny for your thoughts, Princess?"

She raised her head, her eyes widening a bit. What? What was it? She bit her lip in hesitation.

"I-I was just wondering how could I thank you for everything you've done to me."

 _You can kiss me, if you wish._

He threw that unwanted (wanted) thought out of his mind and replied truthfully. "You don't need to, Marinette. It's my duty to protect all of you."

She frowned cutely, clearly exasperated. "But I still want to do it. You helped me great deal with the Evillustrator, and today I'd have become a big ball of XP if you hadn't intervened. Now, if I just had any ide- _oh."_

A slow smile made its way to her face as she stared at him, and her eyes glinted with something akin to playfulness. He opened his mouth to ask her about it, but she surprised him when she yanked him down, she standing on her tiptoes and kissed him on his cheek.

Sweet mother of Jesus.

Her soft lips lingered on his skin for a bit before she dropped down and let go of his collar, grinning proudly at him. The only thing he could think while he blushed scarlet was how much he wanted to taste those sweet lips of her. He was sure they would be as sweet as she would.

He opened his mouth, but no witty comeback came. He was trying to regain the control of his body but Marinette wasn't done, oh, no. Because as her bluebell eyes never left his, her index finger trailed its way from his shoulder, leaving goose bumps on the way, to his bell, which she rung teasingly.

"Cat got your tongue, _Chaton_?"

Chat had died and gone to heaven.

However, both of them came back down from the cloud they'd been on when a loud beeping filled the room. Both looked down at his ring, just to see the first light to disappear.

"I guess this is my cue to leave, Princess." He said, his voice rough. He cleared it subtly. "Would you care to escort a stray cat outside?"

She nodded, and both of them climbed up the stairs to her balcony. The fresh air managed to cool of his skin as he walked to the railing. Jumping so he was standing on top of it, he crouched down facing her.

She had her arms crossed, protecting her body from the cool night. Her hair danced with the soft wind, and that soft smile never left her lips.

He reached for her hand and grabbed it, his thumb caressing the back of it. She made a step forward and there was just a palm of distance between them. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles, but he didn't let go of her hand again.

"I must say goodbye, Princess." He mumbled against her hand.

"You are free to visit anytime, _Chaton._ "

The corner of his lips tucked upwards. "I'll make sure to drop by sometime. _Adieu._ "

He dropped her hand and let himself fall backwards to the void. Once his whole body was in the air, he took his baton and extended it, raising his body to the next rooftop. Before he began running, he looked back only to see Marinette still watching him, her hands on the banister.

He had to refrain himself from whooping as he ran. His heart hadn't stopped beating out a samba since he'd left her behind, and a dopey smile found its way to his lips.

 _Kid._ Plagg called for his attention. _Did the visit help you?_

"Yeah, it did. Thank you Plagg, you're a good friend."

 _Tsk. I demand a reward for all the inconveniences. I was still tired from the last Akuma, that's why the transformation is ending too early._

"Two wheels of Camembert's enough?"

 _Yes! Two wheels are just fine._

He chuckled as he ran, his house already in sight. The stars twinkled brightly in the late night, but despite their beauty, Adrien was already wishing that morning came so he had an excuse to see her again.

 _Sweet dreams, Princess. See you tomorrow._


	2. Marinette

**Ch. 2.** **Marinette**

The first thing that always came to her mind every time someone mentioned Chat Noir were the words reliable show-off.

She couldn't help it! Every time she met with the cat-themed hero as Ladybug, he was always trying to woo her in some way or another, from the flirtatious comments to the awful puns (and let's not talk about how they _somehow_ always ended up in suggestive positions in the middle of an Akuma attack).

Despite his flamboyant personality, Marinette knew she could trust him. He was dependable, and fought with all his might to protect the city they both loved. He had been the one that had given her the strength she so desperately needed when she was about to give up her Miraculous, and the one who grounded her when her temper took the best of her.

And okay, if she was honest to herself, she had to admit that her _Chaton_ was devilishly handsome. It was those untameable blond locks of his she sometimes wished to run her fingers through; it were those clear eyes that glowed with mirth every time he flew through Paris' rooftops, almost as if it was his natural habitat.

Too bad she had fallen for Adrien first.

However, there was something off about him. Something she couldn't put her finger on that he tried to hide with all his might. It was there when he thought no one was looking, that sad look of longing that he tried to mask with mindless banter. It always left her with a strange urge to hug him and tell him everything was going to be all right.

In conclusion, she trusted her partner with her life, even if she always gave him the cold shoulder to his romantic attempts. That's why when the Evillustrator – oh, poor Nathanaël – came to her room and invited her to his birthday party, her thoughts almost immediately roamed to the Kitty cat.

She was sure he would protect her with all his might; she had seen him protecting _Chloe_ , of all people, so she knew he was cut for the job. So she transformed into Ladybug and called him, sending a picture of herself and asking him to protect her – did he gasp? – and excused herself for not being there telling him she had an 'Important Secret Mission' she had to take care of. What is more secret than trying to capture an Akuma in your civilian form?

What she didn't expect was the flirting.

After Sabrina left fuming – _she was so not like Chloe!_ – he suddenly dropped from above, making her squeak in surprise. He then cracked a cat joke (obviously), kneeled down, grabbed her hand and kissed it. What?

 _He kissed my hand. He kissed MY HAND?_

She took her hand away as fast as she could. Why was he flirting with her? Had he figured out? No, that couldn't be; he would've said something by now. Then why was he flirting with her!? He hadn't done it to any other civilian they'd protected so far, so why was she special?

She did her best to hide her Ladybug persona acting like one of those crazy fangirls that tended to overflow Alya's blog, and Chat Noir didn't seem fazed by it. In fact, he began showing off – _wait, did he call me Princess?_ – and flirting with her while explaining the current situation (as if she didn't know that already).

She couldn't help but feel more like Ladybug than Marinette at that moment, and she found herself stifling her chuckles at his acting. She risked it a bit and turned around, asking about Ladybug's whereabouts.

Then he insinuated flirtatiously she could be his Ladybug today. Really, _Chaton_?

He then explained his plan for stopping the Evillustrator, and Marinette was impressed to see it was simple yet effective. It consisted in Marinette distracting the Akuma and taking his pencil away from him, disabling him from using his powers and getting the Akumatised object all at once. Chat would be hidden and step in once she had the pencil, or if the Evillustrator found out. Huh, clever.

She couldn't help but giggle at his flashy exit and went to her room once again, polishing the details of the plan with Tikki.

When the time came, she made her way to the deck by the river, and Marinette would be lying if she said she wasn't impressed. Natha- _the Evillustrator_ , had gone all out, and had decorated the boat creatively without being too overdone.

She played along to every whim of the Akuma, which weren't much to begin with. Despite his submissive appearance, Marinette didn't drop her guard, she had already seen how aggressive he could become, after all, and spend all the time watching sideways, looking for a black figure tailing them.

There was her _Chaton_! She caught his gaze once or twice, the superhero flashing her a quick smile before jumping to the back of the boat silently. As much as she had a soft spot for his dorky behaviour, she had to admit something inside her burnt whenever she saw him all serious and thinking his every move.

He asked silently for her signal and she stopped him subtly, both of them not realising they'd fallen in their amity without effort. When she needed him to stop, he stopped; and when she wanted him to step in, he complied brilliantly. They understood each other perfectly, and didn't even need to look at each other for their minds to be in unison.

Then the Akuma compared her to Chloe – Really!? Of all people, it had to be Chloe again!? – and trapped Chat Noir and her inside a crystal box before he left, not forgetting to use his powers to open a hole in the boat's hull so it began sinking at an increasing speed.

Really, what was even her life?

Cold fear rushed through her as she closed her purse so Tikki couldn't be seen. If she didn't come up with a plan soon, she would be forced to transform in order to get a chance to escape out of their glass prison, and that uncertainty made her break in cold sweat.

It's not that she didn't want her partner to know – she secretly wanted to know more about him too – but every time a thought of opening up more to him crossed her mind, suddenly thousands of images of what could go wrong filled her head and her mouth fell shut in fear.

She knew she could trust him with her secret identity, even with her life; and if you asked her she would argue that it was for protecting them and for the people they loved most, but in reality it was her insecurity speaking. She had always been plain, boring Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the baker's daughter, and some part of her – even if it was the littlest of the sparks – still doubted if she was worthy of her Miraculous.

So it was an understatement to say she was immensely relieved when she came with a plan that would not expose her secret identity and explained it to him. He grinned wickedly as he tightened his grip on her waist, something that made her forget her fangirl façade as she glared at him and took his hands off her, placing her arms around his shoulders instead.

He extended his baton and the heavy box lifted, and the sly cat took his chance when they were in mid-air to catch her bridal style and landing softly on the riverside.

Show-off.

Unfortunately, ( _wait, what?_ ) he had to leave quickly, as the Evillustrator had threatened Chloe _once again,_ so it was their duty to protect her and capture the Akuma once and for all. When Chat Noir was out of sight, Marinette took the opportunity to transform and headed to the blonde's hotel after him.

From then on, Marinette would remember the experience of trying to fight an Akuma in her civilian self with fondness and a bit of exasperation. And for the life of her she couldn't get out of her mind how Chat Noir had interacted with her as Marinette.

It wasn't the fact that he had flirted with her all the time they had been together – she was used to it, after all – just that he didn't flirt with anyone else. She didn't notice at first, but she had been subconsciously checking his behaviour towards female civilians, and the only one he had seemed to flirt with was her.

And god, didn't that confuse her.

Therefore, that got her thinking, and thinking, in Marinette's case, wasn't good. Because when she thought, her imagination tended to go a bit overboard, and when that happened she often ended up panicking.

What if he had discovered who she was? What if he was having a good laugh at her obliviousness? What if-

She often had to stop herself before she got too worked up; Chat Noir was her partner, he had had loads of opportunities to discover her true identity in the past and he had respected her boundaries thus far, so he wouldn't be _laughing_ at her at the moment. She hoped.

Nonetheless, her brain kept picking up tiny little details about him; how his eyes softened whenever they reunited from patrol and stayed for a while, talking about everything and nothing, and how his gentle smile, that one that showed when he was distracted, made her own heart speed up.

She felt something between thrill and dread when she realized she may be falling for her _Chaton_. It confused her to no end, because the only time she had felt that before was with Adrien, but it wasn't quite like that. While she felt a sudden rush every time she saw the blond model, Chat managed to soothe her as soon as he made his presence known.

It didn't help her state of mind that Adrien suddenly seemed to pay more attention to her.

She didn't know how or why, but her classmate suddenly seemed more interested in befriending her, and boy, didn't she become a stuttering mess around him. Tikki was constantly worried about her wellbeing, as her mind couldn't stop looping around the two, distracting her. As a result, she had become clumsier than normal.

But as time went by she… calmed down. The jittery feeling she always got whenever she saw Adrien was oddly soothed with the feeling she got whenever she saw Chat, and as she got to know the model more she was surprised to find out she didn't have as much difficulties as before talking to him.

So when Alya asked for him to help her talk with his uncle Cheng, she felt relief in spite of horror for being alone with him. She was surprised to see that the conversation flowed easily between them, and when they had dinner together that night, she was proud to say she had stuttered only three times.

Alya was proud of her too; she affirmed that now that she had lost her initial over-the-top wariness making him fall for her would be a piece of cake. Yeah, right. Because even if she didn't feel that initial terror for messing up around him, she still was shy with him, something she doubted she could overcome in a long time.

And it really didn't help that she still had those unwanted feelings towards the leather-clad hero messing with her feeble heart.

So the day of the Ultimate Mecha Strike III tournament preliminary came. She hadn't even known it existed, and as soon as she saw Adrien as one of the finalists of the doubles category, she _needed_ to join. And coincidentally, it was in a game she and her papa played at home to decide which one of them did the chores.

So when the director of her school was about to call the contest to an end – and why did they even hold this kind of contest at the library? – she asked shyly if she could give it a go. As soon as her words came out of her mouth, Adrien gave him his controller ( _Adrien's controller!_ ) and she faced Max.

Thinking about it coldly, she may have been a bit too harsh on him. In her defence, it was the way she played at home; she really disliked smelling like smoke days after cleaning the central oven from the shop.

Of course, she beat him. She felt a bit bad for taking Max's place from the tournament, even if she had won it fair and square. It seemed he really wanted to go, judging by the way his shoulders slumped before congratulating her and walking out the library.

Adrien and she decided to have a training session in her home, and she once again realized her mistake. Her whole room was full of Adrien's face. With the help of one Kwami – Tikki deserved the whole world's supply of cookies – she cleaned it just in time to let Adrien up and avoid at the same time for her parents to embarrass her more.

"-You two are a pair, huh? I'm not surprised; Marinette talks a lot about you, you know?" Her mother commented, a look of innocence in her face.

See?! That was precisely what she tried to avoid!

She called for him to climb up the stairs and go to her room, and she could distinctly hear both of them awing at them. She really hoped Adrien hadn't heard.

She noticed from the corner of her eye that he was looking at her room, and she tried to direct his attention to her computer – luckily, she'd changed her background and the game was already on.

"Here, Adrien." She sat down in one of her chairs, and waited for him to sit beside her. His oh so green eyes landed on her and sat down with her.

When she settled her nerves, she reached to the controller nearest to her, only to land on Adrien's warm hand. They both tucked their hands away and giggled nervously, Marinette subtly brushing her bangs.

"S-sorry." She couldn't help but stutter.

"No, you go!"

 _Let's try again._

"I'll just choose the other one-" they both said in unison and reached for the other controller, not predicting that the other would do the same. They once again joined hands and tucked them away as soon as they made contact another time, feeling self-conscious.

Marinette couldn't supress her blush as she looked at the other side. She saw from the corner of her eye how Adrien caught the controller nearest to her, so she moved her hand to grab the other one. They both played in silence for a while, and Marinette's mind was working at full speed to find some way to break the tension between them.

"You parents seem nice." Adrien commented, a small smile in his lips. God bless your perfect soul.

"Oh, yeah, they are. But sometimes…" Tikki called for her attention, and her eyes widened in horror. _Oh no, a picture of Adrien!_ She couldn't help but let out a shriek before she grabbed it and threw it to a basket full of clothes.

"Sometimes what?"

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, and her papa opened the hatch of her room, offering them croissants. Fantastic, now Adrien would think that she was spoiled, or something. Couldn't they leave them alone?

Shooing him away, she sighed and returned to their prior conversation "Sometimes my parents can be a little nosy." She heard the hatch opening once again and she glared at not only her papa, but her _maman_ as well. Adrien noticed and she shot him a smile "Where were we?"

Marinette let herself relax and concentrated on the game. At first, they were a bit wary of each other, but after some rounds, their two bots seemed to complement each other. She was impressed by his technique; it wasn't the best of the world, but he could put up a fight and covered her when she had to prepare a risky combo.

He was a really good partner, and if they kept playing like this the championship would be theirs, no doubt.

The screen flashed, showing that they'd won once again, and they both cheered.

"We won again! Thanks to you." he cocked his head to her playfully

She laughed awkwardly "Yeah, um, yes we did."

"We? That was practically all you." He let his chair roll backwards and rested the back of his head on it. He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You're amazing, Marinette. I guess you wouldn't even need me. I'm so lame compared to you."

What had she done? Had she gone overboard again? Ugh, she did, didn't she? Now Adrien was feeling uncomfortable and it was her fault. Good job, Marinette.

But she didn't understand. He was really good too; they wouldn't have obtained as much punctuation without his aid, so where did all this come from? In any case, she felt compelled to reassure him.

"Um, uh, no, no, no!" She waved her hands in alarm "Um, I- no! You're so good. I mean, I'm the one who's not good- I mean," _please, let her shut up. Even better, let her crawl into a hole and never get out of it._ "Uh, I'm lucky, that's all."

The hatch opened up ( _again_ ) and it was her father again, this time carrying a tray full of cookies. Didn't they know when to stop?

"Papa, we're trying to work here." she nearly hissed at him. He threw her a knowing glance and left again.

She risked a side glance to Adrien, and she saw she was still upset. Okay. Mission 'Comfort Adrien' is a go. How could she possibly…? An idea popped up in her mind and she smiled gleefully. That might work.

"Actually, you know what? I've got a secret." She reached for her pocket and took out an old amulet, showing it to him. She'd carried it around for some time, so she hoped her Ladybug luck had rubbed on it "This is why I win."

He looked at her sceptical "Are you messing with me?"

"Try playing a match with it." She handed it to him and he grabbed it, his fingertips brushing in the palm of her hand and giving her goose bumps. If that was her reaction for a bit of finger brushing, how would she cope if he ever grabbed her hand?

She would probably die at the spot.

Before he could thank her, though, the hatch opened _once again._ And _oh,_ guess what? Both her father and mother had come to bug them.

"How about a delicious quiche? You can tell me what you think of it."

This was getting out of hand.

She was about to refuse again, but Adrien stepped in "Um, Marinette, a little snack wouldn't hurt, would it?"

He had such a hopeful look on his face that she just couldn't say no. Maybe a little break and a snack wouldn't be so bad, right?

They decided to have their break in the park near her home, so they could have their homemade quiche while enjoying the beautiful day outside. Some part of her felt giddy, as it looked very much as a date.

"I'm really sorry. It's impossible to get anything done with my parents around."

"It's okay." He took a bite of the pastry. _I guess he was a bit hungry, after all. He seemed to enjoy it, too._ "I didn't know your mother makes such an awesome quiche."

It always made her happy when someone complimented her parents' cooking. They were a bit overbearing, but she loved them with all her might. They were the best cooks she knew, and for someone like Adrien to flatter their skills… well, she was proud of them.

"Yeah. So, shall we go back?"

Before they could stand up, though, people around them began screaming and running. Some of them didn't make it so far, as they were turned into green glowing balls of light and absorbed by what looked like one of the robots from UMS III.

"Tell me this is some kind of publicity stunt for the tournament." She said, even though she was 90% certain it was an actual Akuma.

Adrien glared at the robot in front of them. "Doesn't look like a publicity stunt to me."

Then, the bot aimed at them and shot at their direction, but before they could get hit Adrien got them out of the way. They both ended at the floor, the bench no longer in there, and Marinette found herself encased between his arms in a too familiar way. He looked down at her and blushed, but quickly reached for her hand and helped her stand up.

They ran away from the blasts, Adrien keeping a tight grip in her hand. She could feel his ring burying between her fingers hardly, tightly, but she didn't care at the moment. Her first priority was getting them to safety.

But the Akuma had other ideas and the blast came closer and closer, until one of them came too close for comfort. Her hand slipped from his grip and she looked at him worried. One half of her wanted to make sure he made it out of there, but the other part knew it was the perfect opportunity to find a place to hide and transform.

So they parted ways, and she quickened her strides, looking for places to hide.

… If only the robot hadn't chosen to follow her.

She began running down the street, trying with all her might not to get hit and find a place to hide from him, but the Akuma was persistent. She'd managed so far, but then the robot leaped in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. Why did he have to be so big?

"Game over Marinette." He said with a metallic voice.

"How does he know my name?" She frowned as she evaded a shot near her. Then realisation hit her. "Max!"

She really had overdone herself at the preliminary, and taking his spot at the tournament made him so upset that he ended up being possessed by an Akuma. God, she felt terrible.

He shot her three consecutive times, and she decided it was time to flee. She turned around and began running again, avoiding as many shots as she could. Once again, his aim was getting better, and luckily for her, if the last blast had been three inches nearer her, she'd be toast.

The bad news is that she lost her footing fell on her butt. The mecha corrected the direction and prepared to shoot, and she was sure this time would hit her, no matter what she did. She closed her eyes tightly.

"Game ov-" Something made a clang sound and interrupted him. She opened her eyes in confusion and she could've cried in relief.

"Not yet. Here comes a new challenger!" Chat Noir stated from the top of a building.

Oh, she could kiss him. Maybe she would later.

She watched him as he jumped down and landed neatly in front of the Akuma, his posture guarded and ready to fight.

As much as she didn't want to distract him and put him in danger, as long as Marinette was in the scene Max would target her, making both of their jobs difficult. She didn't want to make him drop her guard, but he was the only ticket she had for finding a place to transform as quick as possible. She really had no choice.

She sighed, and then raised her voice, calling for him. "Chat Noir, hey! Over here!"

She saw as he turned his head, looking for her, and his eyes widened for a fraction of second when he saw her before making a big leap towards her, avoiding Max's blasts (did he really need to make a show out of it?) and landed all fours in front of her. He smirked and reached for her, wrapping his strong arms around her. She instinctively hugged him back and buried her head in his neck before he started running.

She could feel his breath on her neck and his muscles tensing and relaxing as he carried her to safety. Although there was shooting around them, she couldn't help but feel safe with him surrounding her. The smell of wilderness and rain that came from him was almost dizzying, and she almost forgot the reason why she was in his arms in the first place.

He leaped from roof to roof, both of their hearts beating at the same frantic rhythm. One of her hands escaped from the tight grip at his shoulders and buried itself on his hair, marvelling at the softness of his wild locks. His groan made blood rush to her face and she sighed.

The trip ended sooner than she wanted, and he stopped at the terrace of what she later recognized as Chloe's hotel. His hands on her waist made her stomach do somersaults, and he didn't let go until she regained her footing. Her head felt a bit fuzzy, and she was almost certain it wasn't because of the speed of the trip.

She looked up at him, and electricity could be felt around them. She felt as if she was drowning in his bright eyes, and she didn't feel compelled to fight back. The moment ended way too soon when he cleared his throat and let her go, throwing at her his usual smirk. His Kwami had scolded him, no doubt about it.

She already missed his arms around her.

"I heard Ms Videogame champion really ticked off the final boss." He teased her, his tense eyes pleading her to fall into their usual banter. Being reminded of their responsibilities towards Paris, she complied.

She crossed her arms and frowned "Well, it doesn't give him extra points to go transforming everyone."

Chat grinned and nodded at her. He turned around, getting ready to go when a thought crossed her mind that froze her from head to toe. _She had forgotten about Adrien!_

"Hey wait, Chat Noir!" He turned around "I left my friend Adrien at the park. He could be in danger, we have to go back!"

Something seemed to cross his mind at the moment, his gaze intensifying in a way she had never seen before and leaving her breathless. But as soon as it came it went, and he smiled politely.

"Uh, don't worry. Adrien's not in danger. He'll be fine." He turned around, facing the edge, and turned his head to keep talking to her. "You'll be safe here," _In Chloe's hotel? As if._ "just stay put. Don't worry, Chat Noir's taking care of everything" he winked at her, returning to his flirtatious self. She felt both relieved and upset about it. He then turned around and jumped, announcing; "I should leap and do a barrel roll!"

She rolled her eyes out of custom, but she couldn't keep away the fond smile off her face. "He's always so over-the top." She commented affectionately.

Tikki came out of her hiding and looked at her charge. She could see the glow on her eyes, and she promised herself to talk about it with her, but they had an Akuma to cleanse.

She just hoped everything turned up alright in the end.

* * *

After dealing with the Gamer and purifying Max, Chat Noir and she parted ways. She detransformed in an alley nearby and made her way home, the sun already setting. Arriving home, she received a message from Adrien telling her that Chat Noir had taken him to safety, and asked if she was okay, so she quickly replied to ease his worries.

She arrived home and told her parents about the Akuma and how they'd both got stuck. They understood completely, and she headed to her room, beaten. Tikki flew out of her purse and landed on the table, where Marinette had placed a dish with two cookies before.

She had a quick shower and she stepped out of the bathroom already in her pyjamas, a loose pink shirt with a wide neck and dark shorts. She rubbed her wet hair with a fluffy towel, and when it was dry enough, she picked up a comb and untangled it.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tikki asked.

She shrugged. "I guess. Although it's pretty clear right now."

"You've fallen in love with him." Marinette nodded in response and sighed, stopping with her combing. "What are your feelings about it?"

"… I feel confused yet, but… I couldn't hate something that feels so _right._ But what about Adrien? I still hold feelings for him. Is it strange to be in love with two people?"

Tikki shook her head "It's actually more usual than you think. It's okay to love romantically both Adrien and Chat, Marinette. You humans are complicated creatures; the strength of your emotions is both your biggest blessing and your worst curse. It has the power to raise civilisations and originate wars. We Kwamis obtain our powers from those emotions, as love is creation and hate is destruction."

She looked surprised at her. "Is that so?"

"Yes. You've already felt how powerful I am, so you should be able to understand what I'm trying to say."

"I know human emotions are strong, I am a prove myself of what happens when you are used to feel way too much." She earned a chuckle from Tikki. "But I can't grasp my mind in how is it possible to fall for two people, Tikki. I don't now, I'm a mess."

Tikki nodded understanding, and a small smile decorated her face. "I have a question for you, Marinette. Do you love your parents?" She nodded, confused. "Do you love Alya?"

Her mouth opened in understanding, and nodded again. "And do you love Adrien and Chat the same way?"

"… No. I mean, there is the whole 'love' thingy that I feel about them, but the effect they have on me is different. While Adrien makes me feel nervous and a train-wreck, Chat calms me in a way no other had before. Am I making sense? Because I feel like I'm not making any."

"Of course you are." Tikki giggled. "You can love Adrien and Chat differently as you love your parents or even me in a different way. That doesn't mean you love one more or less than the other, or that you're betraying one for the other. You just love."

She nodded as she absorbed Tikki's words, her speech soothing out worries inside her she didn't know she even had. She picked up her comb again and combed her damp hair, her head elsewhere (more exactly, in a certain roof of a certain hotel).

She still could feel the ghost of his arms around her, the faint smell of him in her clothes, and the tickling of his breath in her neck. She felt the wild wind around her as he rushed through the rooftops, and his warm hands supporting her when her knees couldn't.

It was incredible how she had taken him for granted all these months they'd been working together. Blinded by her crush and her fear of rejection, she had failed to see that under that mask of cockiness and terrible puns was a boy with a heart of gold and deep passion.

Soft knocking on the hatch of her roof startled her away from her thoughts. She stood up, a smile already grazing her lips as she climbed up the stairs, careful of being as silent as possible. She opened the hatch and met his glowing eyes with hers, both of them staying quiet for a while, observing one another.

The Parisian night seemed to engulf him in a hug. The night-lights gave him an air of mystery, and the soft wind played with his hair.

She opened the hatch fully, and she smiled at him. "Do you want to come in?"

"Yes." His serious face dropped, and a small smile of content fell into his lips.

She climbed down the stairs, trusting him to follow her, and reached the floor of her room. She sat down on her chaise and resumed combing her hair. She heard his soft steps behind her, roaming around the room. He stopped at some point and chuckled softly. That picked Marinette's interest, but when she had turned around, Chat was already moving to another place.

"Are you going to sniff around every corner of my room, alley cat?" She teased him. She got a cheeky grin in reply.

"I might do just that. Then I can claim that place as my own and be by my Princess' side forever."

She rolled her eyes at his antics, but she could feel heat pooling at her cheeks. She prayed that with the low light he wouldn't notice. For his saucy grin, she didn't have such luck. How could she distract him?

"So what brings you here, _Chaton_?"

"I merely wanted to check out on you, see if you'd made it." He shrugged. "I hope you didn't have any difficulties getting out of the hotel."

Oh, getting out of that terrace had been way too easy once she'd transformed into Ladybug, but it's not like she was going to tell him that. What he didn't know couldn't hurt him.

"I managed just fine. Thank you for your concern."

At that moment, she realized she had yet to thank him for getting her out of the Gamer's way. She placed the comb on the chaise and stood up, standing one feet away from him and looking up to his eyes. Had he always been that tall?

"And I have to thank you for getting me out of there earlier, even though you didn't have to." _And giving me the chance to transform._ "And for helping Adrien too. He texted me earlier and told me you aided him, so thank you."

He suddenly seemed nervous. "O-oh, yeah. Adrien. I found him on my way back to fight the Gamer. Piece of cake."

Wait, what? That wasn't what he said at the hotel. He'd said Adrien was out of danger, so he should have met him before even finding her, right? And the uneasiness he seemed to radiate didn't help her suspicions to lower; at the contrary, it fuelled them.

Before she could carry with that line of thought, though, he dropped to his knee and kissed her hand. Her brain short-circuited. "And it was an honour to carry you to safety, Princess. This knight's first priority is your well-being, after all."

It seemed that her mouth answered him, but for the life of her she didn't know what she said. He stood up, but his grip on her hand never wavered, he tightened it interlacing their fingers instead. Her heart beat wildly in her chest, and if he could _stop_ with his smug yet charming grin for a minute, she would regain the control of her body.

When she began to calm down, she noticed how familiar his hand in hers felt; something that struck her as odd, as when she was Ladybug she tended to keep contact between them to a minimum.

It was the ring, she realized. His miraculous was hard against her fingers, but in any way the extra pressure felt uncomfortable. But why…?

Hadn't he had a ring when…?

She felt a warm hand in her cheek. "Penny for your thoughts, Princess?"

She raised her head, and could see Chat Noir looking curiously back at her. She couldn't possibly tell him what was crossing her mind at that instant.

"I-I was just wondering how could I thank you for everything you've done to me."

"You don't need to, Marinette." He answered truthfully, dropping his flirty demeanour. "It's my duty to protect all of you."

She frowned. "But I still want to do it. You helped me great deal with the Evillustrator, and today I'd have become a big ball of XP if you hadn't intervened. Now, if I just had any ide- _oh."_

Oh, look at that. She _had_ an idea. She had promised she would do it later, hadn't she? And what a better time than this one, where there was no impending danger nor rush? Oh boy, she was a genius.

Chat opened his mouth, clearly to ask her what was wrong but she didn't give him the opportunity to speak up, as she suddenly grabbed him by his collar and tugged down, making him yelp. Then, when she was at his level, she placed a kiss on his cheek, letting her lips linger on his skin before letting the back of her toes touch the floor once again and releasing him, her hands finding her way to his shoulders.

His face was priceless. He stared down at her with wide eyes, his mouth slightly agape, and the most beautiful of the pinks made its way to his cheeks. His mouth moved, but no sound came from it. It was the perfect picture of a flustered person. Beautiful, even.

She couldn't resist the urge to tease him, and she rung his bell, her eyes never leaving his, and a teasing smile adorning her lips. "Cat got your tongue, _Chaton_?"

She got lost in the intensity of his gaze, and she couldn't help but feel content by being near him. However, both of them came back down from the cloud they'd been on when a loud beeping filled the room. Both looked down at his ring, just to see the first light to disappear.

"I guess this is my cue to leave, Princess." His rough voice sent shivers down her spine. He cleared his throat subtly before talking again. "Would you care to escort a stray cat outside?"

Unable to answer verbally, she nodded, and both of them climbed up the stairs to her balcony. The fresh air managed cooled her blushed cheeks, and she realized she wasn't dressed enough for the cool night. She hugged herself to keep her warmth and headed to the railing with him.

He jumped and stood on top of it, then crouched down facing her. He reached for one of her hands and grabbed it, warmth sipping inside her for the little touch. She took a step forward, not really wanting to leave his side, and he brought her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles.

"I must say goodbye, Princess." He mumbled against her hand. She felt herself blush.

"You are free to visit anytime, _Chaton._ "

The corner of his lips tucked upwards. "I'll make sure to drop by sometime. _Adieu._ "

His fingers left her hand and she immediately felt the cold. He leaned backwards and fell, but she wasn't worried. She placed her hands on the banister at the same time Chat extended his baton, pulling his body to the next rooftop. Before he disappeared, his green eyes found hers and grinned.

She slowly made her way to the hatch and dropped to her bed, closing the little door behind her. She stared at the twinkling stars through the window on her roof and sighed.

"Chat… could he…?" She muttered to herself.

Tikki came out of her hiding and landed on the cat plush. "Could he what?"

She shook her head. "I'm not sure yet, Tikki. I need to think this through. I'll tell you when I'm sure, okay?" the Kwami nodded. "Goodnight Tikki."

"Sleep well, Marinette."

And she felt asleep quickly, dreaming of bright green eyes and a devilishly smile.


	3. You and I

**Ch. 3. You and I**

It was a beautiful day in Paris. The sun was shining in the warm morning of May, and despite being a workday, it didn't seem to down people's mood.

It was break time at the Collège Françoise Dupont, and every student was spending their time at the courtyard. One of them was a blond model that went by the name of Adrien Agreste, who was listening absentmindedly to his best friend Nino's speech, as his eyes kept drifting to one dark-haired girl with sky-blue eyes.

She was just so beautiful and adorable. He loved how her eyes seemed to convey everything she felt like an open book, and how the sunrays seemed to kiss her perfect ivory skin decorated with soft freckles, drawing entire constellations on her face.

The petite seamstress had been roaming in his mind non-stop since he rescued her from the Gamer. He could still remember her warm hold around his shoulders, her delicate fingers caressing his nape despite being roughly carried to safety. If he had been intrigued by her before, it was nothing compared to the curiosity he felt now. His heart demanded to know every tiny detail about her, and well, who was he to deny his heart's wish?

Nino's speech became an unrecognizable background noise as he kept on watching Marinette. His hand darted inside his pocket, and his fingers closed on the familiar charm he had received some days ago. He had to give it to her; his luck had improved considerably since he had borrowed the charm. Let's see… he'd finally faced his confusing feelings just to discover that Marinette lo- _liked_ him back.

Yeah, it had definitely improved, no doubt.

And the way it did… God… the way her eyes narrowed in determination before she yanked him down at her level and her sweet soft lips caressed his skin near enough from the corner of his lips to feel them tingling afterwards yet too far to leave him craving for more.

He closed his mouth, realizing he had had a dopey smile the whole time he had been staring at Marinette. He pulled himself together, praying that Nino hadn't noticed his absentminded demeanour.

"… and then I'm going to adopt twenty cats and I'm going to name each one of them after everyone in class. As you're my best friend, you'll get to pick which one will be named after yourself, even if you are too busy to do so right now."

 _Well, I guess that answers it._

"Sorry Nino," He smiled apologetically at him, rubbing his neck uncomfortably. "My head's been on the clouds lately."

He smirked. "Well, I wouldn't call Marinette a cloud, but whatever's your cup of tea." He raised his hand to stop him before he could protest. "And don't even try to deny it, I've seen you ogling at her for fifteen minutes. You've got the hots for her."

"Wha- ho- I've not been _ogling_ at her, Nino!" He blushed despite trying his best to deny it. As expected, it didn't work.

"Peeping, eyeing, gazing, regarding, gawking, whatever you want to call it, dude. And don't even think I didn't notice how you didn't deny having a crush on her."

He gaped. "I-I-"

"Don't worry about it, man." Nino shrugged and patted his shoulder. "It was inevitable anyway. Every single guy at school has gone through their Marinette crush™ in one way or another, believe me. You should have seen her last year – she had her hair tucked in this adorable bun, and with her sweet smile and those tight jeans of hers…"

"Nino." He called at him warningly, the thought of anyone else but him og- _admiring_ her charm not settling well within him.

He waved his hands in defeat. "Relax, dude. What I was trying to say was that you shouldn't feel ashamed about it. Marinette's cute and really nice, no one's able to resist to her charm. Why don't you ask her out?"

He felt the blush rising once again to his cheeks, biting his tongue before answering. Marinette wasn't _cute_ , some part of his mind hissed protectively, she was stunning; with her doll-like complexion, her sapphire eyes and the fieriness of her soul. Moreover, nice didn't even began describing his Princess. She had a heart of gold and did her best to help those in need, and Adrien wouldn't be surprised if birds and butterflies fluttered nearby every time she smiled.

He tried to stop that line of thinking, as he was one inch short of being carried away to his daydreaming again, and did his best to control his razing heart. Her giggle some feet away from them didn't help him to do so.

How could he even convey how wrong it felt just to ask her out? Marinette deserved much more than that; she deserved to be pampered until her cheeks got that lovely rosy colour he adored so much, and make her giggle in a way that even the coldest of hearts would melt at the mere sound of it. She deserved to be treated like the princess she was.

Nino seemed to notice his wariness, and he spoke up. "Come on! What are you even afraid of? You're literally M. Front-of-the-cover-Teen-Model-weekly. No one can win you for coolness. Surely asking someone on a date isn't difficult for you, is it?"

On the other side, Adrien continued his musings, only half-hearing his best mate, he was dying to ask her out. She was present in every breath he took from he woke up until he fell asleep, and even in his dreams she had found a place to warm his undeserving heart. And the best of it all was that she didn't have the foggiest of what effect she had on him.

He was so screwed.

"What should I tell her?" He muttered to himself. However, Nino heard him and shrugged in reply.

"I don't know, I haven't asked anyone out in my whole life."

That made Adrien finally avert his eyes from Marinette and stare at him in surprise. "You haven't? What about Alya?"

"W-what about her?"

 _Oh, look at that. It seems that the tables have turned._

He casually leaned on the wall and gave him a practiced dismissive look, waving his hand nonchalantly, while he was mentally patting himself on the back for it. All his modelling came in handy sometimes.

"Well, since we filmed that film with the Akuma on it I've seen you two all buddy-buddy together, so I assumed you two were going out. And I'm really happy for you, Nino, although I'm a bit hurt you didn't tell me about your crush."

"I DON'T-" He cleared his throat and lowered his voice, trying not to get both girls notice them. "Don't even try, dude. I know what you're trying to do, and that's totally not cool."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"We were talking about your love life, not mine. Not that I l-love Alya. She's a friend."

"Sure she is." He teased, but at the sight of his growing glare on his face, he decided to give up. "Okay. You win. I'll ask her out. But!" He stopped him before he began cheering. "You'll come too." He nodded at both girls "With Alya."

"Dude! No! Absolutely not! What the hell, man?"

"You take it or you leave it." He didn't look convinced. He decided to take another route. "Come on, Nino! It'd be like a double date! And if things get awkward, well, we're just some friends hanging out together. No big deal." He smirked at his hesitant face. Just a little bit more… "Come on, Nino. I need my best man beside me."

Nino frowned as he looked at him, then threw a side glance at the two girls sitting on the stairs and chatting about a magazine. He then looked at Adrien once again and sighed in defeat.

"Okay…" _Yes!_ "But I'm doing this for you, not for A-Alya."

"Yeah, totally. Thanks bro, you're the best friend I could ask for."

He threw his hands to the air dramatically. "I _know._ And I will ask for a reward for being the best friend you could ever have, you hear me?"

Nino didn't even need to ask for it, as Adrien was already planning on making him a gift for it. Maybe those headphones Nino kept throwing longing stares when they hung out together. Yeah, they'd be just fine.

"Now we have to decide where to take them." Adrien mused. "Does the cinema sound too date-y?"

"We could go to the zoo." He commented. At Adrien's frown, he added. "I've heard they have this sick new panther there. It could be cool."

Before he could answer, the bell warning of the end of the break startled both teens, and everyone began making their way to class. Adrien nudged him, and they headed to their respective seats, noting that the girls were already sitting down and waiting for the class to start.

Adrien flashed Nino a look that said 'Follow my lead' and he turned around on his seat, facing both girls while trying to maintain his casual façade, Nino following soon after. Some part of his mind catalogued how her eyes rose to meet his and glinted curiously.

"Hey, Alya, Marinette." He hoped anyone noticed the adoration he couldn't help but give off when he said her name. "Nino was telling me of this new exhibit at the zoo, and we were planning on checking it out after school. Do you two want to join us?"

"Sure." Alya chimed. "What do you think, Marinette?"

"Um- yeah! It'll be fun."

The dark haired girl grinned at them, an adorable soft blush in her cheeks, and he had to run his hand through his hair to stop himself from og- _looking_ at her. The movement caught her eye, and something flashed in them, something he couldn't put a name to. However, as soon as it came it was gone, and Nino cleared his throat, oblivious.

"Um, how about we meet at the zoo's entrance at five?"

"Okay." Marinette agreed, nodding in emphasis and making her pigtails bounce slightly at the action. _Cute._

Mme Bustier chose that moment to come in and begin the class, so the two boys had to turn around and face the front of the class. Adrien decided to throw Marinette a glance while doing so, just to meet her eyes. He opted to grin at her, which she answered with a playful smile, her cheeks reddening adorably again.

Oh and what that did to his poor heart.

With all the willpower he could put together at that moment, he turned fully around to face the teacher, but his mind was miles away from her lecture. _Well, not miles. Just some inches behind me._

He hadn't be lying to Nino when he told him he needed him on the date. It wasn't that he thought he would make a fool of himself; but that if he really met her alone and she did something cute – almost everything she did in her case, he remarked with a dreamy sigh – he couldn't be sure he would be able to resist taking her away and keeping her all for himself.

It was too soon for that, wasn't it?

He felt restless until the classes finished. He'd sent a message to M. D'Argencourt to tell him he wouldn't be going to his fencing class today, and another one to the Gorilla telling him he'd walk to his fencing practice. That meant he was free until 6:30. Well, he had time to come up with more excuses, anyway.

When the final bell rung, everyone in the class began chatting and picking up their things to go home. Nino suddenly grabbed his wrist, his grip so tight that if he didn't have enhanced superhero strength, he'd surely sport some bruises later. He turned his head and looked at him questioningly, but when he noticed his fidgeting state realisation downed on him and smirked.

"Something wrong, Nino?" He asked aloud, feigning obliviousness. Nino let him go as if his skin burned.

"N-no! I'm cool." His outburst caught Alya and Marinette's attention, and both were looking at him oddly.

"Are you okay, Nino? We can postpone the meeting to another day if you're not feeling well." Marinette worried, a tiny frown marring her face. He resisted the urge to kiss her forehead to soften it.

Nino stood up and tried to grin at them, but his smile was a bit wonky. "I'm o-okay, really. I'll see you later. Adrien, are you coming to my place?"

He was quite sure Nino wouldn't accept a no for an answer.

"Yeah, sure. I've got some free time."

"Cool. See you two later, Marinette, A-Alya." His tongue got slightly stuck when he mentioned the brunette, but tried to hide it with a slightly crooked smile and a hasty retreat. The other teens looked at his back funnily.

"Well, I'll better follow him. See you later." Adrien smiled at them, his gaze lingering subtly on Marinette before turning around and walking out of the door.

And he wasn't sure, but he could've sworn he heard Marinette squealing once he walked out of the room.

* * *

The hour they spent at Nino's place was uneventful, full of curses from the darker boy directed at him and Adrien trying to stifle his laugh, mindful of Nino's uneasiness. And their way to the Zoo? Nino kept adjusting his cap every minute, checking out it still was at its place.

Oh, and if you asked Adrien, he would totally deny he spent 15 minutes at Nino's bathroom styling his hair.

Marinette and Alya had beaten them to the zoo, and they were chatting with Kim and Max, who seemed to have had the same idea as them. It was when they came closer when Adrien noticed it; Marinette's hair was down.

His breath caught momentarily and his step faltered, memories of their last night together seeping through his mind. How those silky strands slipped between the teeth of her comb, and how her eyes seemed so _deep_ at the dark room-

He shook those thoughts out of his mind before he went into what Plagg called his 'Sappy Mode' and ignored Nino's questioning look, silently praying for his blush to go away. By the time they made it to where they stood, Adrien had put his emotions in check. Somewhat.

"Hi boys!" Alya greeted them when they were near. "Ready to go?"

Nino spoke up after being nudged by Adrien. "Yeah, sure! Lead the way."

The four of them began walking towards the entrance, making small talk.

"Kim and Max told us they came to see the panther too." Marinette commented. "It seems that the zoo has received much more visits since they brought it here."

"Yeah." Alya agreed. "And it's been here for only three days. How did you find out, Nino?"

"At a radio podcast. It sounded cool, so I wanted to check it out."

Alya began walking a bit ahead of the group, chatting amicably with Nino and leaving Marinette and Adrien to follow. He was looking around when he felt a warm hand tugging at his right one. He looked behind him in surprise to see Marinette with a finger on her lips (and rosy cheeks), her eyes pleading. Their friends didn't notice they'd stopped and continued forward.

When she deemed they were far enough, she dropped the finger on her lips and smiled, and Adrien looked at her amused. "And what was that?"

"I'm trying to make a point." She explained, her voice clear and her eyes tingling in glee. "Alya has been telling me nonstop that there was nothing between them, and that she held no feelings for Nino whatsoever, so I'm trying to prove her wrong."

"Really?" Adrien asked, and both of them began strolling around the Zoo, neither of them remembering their joined hands. "I was trying to do the same thing, although I've got to admit that Nino isn't very subtle about his feelings."

"So he was trying to make a move on Alya?" She raised an eyebrow.

He snorted. "Nino? Oh no, he's not good at the feelings section. He didn't want to recognise he liked Alya, although it was as clear as the day." He heard a soft snort coming from the inside pocket of his shirt and he hit Plagg subtly, praying that Marinette hadn't heard the annoying Kwami. He continued. "I even had to trick him into this. God knows Nino wouldn't have the guts to do it by himself."

"So you're kind of his wingman?" She teased.

"Yep." _Kind of. They were wingmen to each other. Was that a thing?_ "I was trying to come up with any excuse to give them some alone time, but I see you've got it covered. I'm glad you're in my boat, Marinette." He bumped his shoulder with hers softly, teasing.

She giggled and returned the bump. "Alya is too stubborn and Nino too coward. They're both idiots." She looked at the direction where the pair had gone. "How much time do you think it'll take for them to realize we're not there?"

He rubbed his nape with his left hand. "I don't know about Alya, but Nino will be too worried about not being a doofus in front of her to even notice we're not there. I give him at least half an hour."

"Alya will notice faster, I think." She mused, her fingertips playing with his ring absentmindedly. Adrien's thumb unconsciously began rubbing soft circles on her hand. "But when she does, I don't know if she'll text us or not."

"Why?" Adrien looked down at her and _oh god, why is she so close?_

She looked up, smiling, but she froze after seeing they were, indeed, really close to each other. She looked down and her grip on his hand tightened momentarily, making a soft blush colour his cheeks. She looked up once again and Adrien was fascinated to see the explosion of colour on her cheeks, her mouth opening and closing like a fish before dropping his hand like it burnt.

"OH- Oh, god, I-I'm so sorry! I-I hadn't noticed I was still h-holding your hand. Not that your hand isn't fine! It is! I mean, it's really soft and big and I wouldn't mind holding it m-more but I- stop me please." She pleaded at the end, trying to control her stammering. His heart beat wildly in his chest. _God, how have I missed the stammering._

He smiled at her reassuringly, but he had the feeling it was a bit too saucy to be supportive. He was still internally swooning, it wasn't his fault his inner Chat Noir decided to show up.

"Don't worry, Marinette. I didn't notice either. Tell you what," he added, grinning widely, shamelessly channelling Chat and grabbing her hand again. Her eyes widened and her cute pout dropped, opening her mouth slightly in surprise. "Why don't we hold hands? That way we won't get lost in the crowd."

She looked around and checked that the Zoo wasn't so crowded to 'get lost in the crowd', and she regarded him with a raised eyebrow, but he didn't falter in his grin, refusing to give up in their game. Something familiar glinted once again in her eyes, and a soft smirk made its way to her face.

"Okay. Why don't we go that way? This is where the panther is."

He mentally cheered as he squeezed her hand, she returning the gesture afterwards. He was glad his little test had come out so great. He had been checking how she would react if 'Perfect Adrien' began acting like his counterpart, the fli- _charming_ superhero, if she would be thrown out by it, and he was glad she'd accepted it without even asking why.

He didn't want to be 'Perfect Adrien' forever, and much less with Marinette. He wanted to drop that mask and be his real self, at least with her. He wanted to be accepted for who he was, not for the image his father decided to sell. He wanted her saying his repressed self wasn't so bad, after all.

He still loved Ladybug. She was like this unreachable dream you can't help but look up to, and whenever they were in battle, her safety always came first. He adored her strong will, her need to do what's best for Paris and to protect every inhabitant of the city. Everyone was important in her mind. She was friendly, witty, brave, and everyone was charmed by her.

But she was out of reach. She did her best to keep herself as a secret, and although they sometimes had some chats after battles or in patrol, she closed off when his questions became more personal.

He wouldn't be able to have with her what he had with Marinette. He wouldn't be able to hold her hand casually around. He wouldn't be able to see her when he needed someone, he wouldn't be able to hold her closer without an excuse for it. Marinette was like a calming balm for his tattered heart, healing with soft caresses and warm hands the scars left by people who should be beside him but weren't. She was healing him, whether she knew it or not, and he was so thankful he had gotten to know her better.

He had fallen for her natural charm, and he had fallen real deep.

A comfortable silence fell between them, as Marinette seemed deep in thought too, and both of them simply enjoyed being with one another. They sometimes made one remark or another, or hid from Alya and Nino when they saw them at the distance, but silence fell again, and none of them were too eager to break the moment.

It was strange, Adrien thought, how someone that made his heart beat like crazy and his mind go awry had such a soothing effect on him. With her by his side, there were no obligations, no extracurricular classes, no strict fathers nor modelling, not saving Paris. They were Marinette and Adrien. Nothing more, nothing less.

A shrill scream startled both of them, and Adrien cursed at his thinking process. And his rotten luck. _Really, this kind of things only happen to me._

They turned around quickly, only to see an animal stampede coming their way. Meeting Marinette's eyes, both teens began running away from the mob, trying to find a place to hide and, in Adrien's case, transform.

The path suddenly split in two, her hand slipping from his and he looked back at her with alarm, the situation reminding him way too much of the Gamer. Time seemed to slow down as their bodies separated from each other due to the inertia. Marinette nodded at him, her eyes determined, and she ran towards the right path, him following the left one. He would've lost too much time going after her, and the stampede would've caught up with them.

He looked for hiding places while trying to avoid the angered animals, turning without aim, and cheered when he bumped into a bush big enough to cover him. He dived behind it and waited for the animals to run past him, catching his breath.

Plagg took this chance to make his way out of his shirt's inner pocket. "Finally! I thought I'd drown in all this school drama. I haven't even eaten yet!"

"Shut up, Plagg." He wheezed, taking deep breaths. He still felt the adrenalin pumping through his veins. "We have a situation here, if you haven't noticed."

"Yeah, the Lion King live action. This stinks of Akuma, if you ask me."

Adrien rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I noticed. Time to take them back home." He clenched his right fist, getting ready to transform. "Plagg, cl-"

Suddenly, someone else jumped behind the bush he was hiding in, and Plagg flew out of side. Adrien's eyes widened when he saw Marinette in front of him, her eyes wide too. She looked to his shirt, then to his still clenched fist, and the strangest thing happened. Her mouth quirked up slowly, her gaze meeting his, and when her mouth opened, she said something he'd never expected to hear.

"Tikki, spots on!"

Pink bright light engulfed her and his mouth fell open when he saw Ladybug crouching in Marinette's place. Amusement rolled off her as she watched him unable to form a coherent thought. In a way so reminiscent of what Marinette had done to Chat, she ran a gloved finger from his collarbone, then his jaw and ending on his chin, giving him goose bumps in the way.

She grinned and booped his nose. "See you in a bit, _Minou_."

Then she leaped out of the bushes and left him there, his brain close to collapsing. He didn't know how much time had passed, but the next thing he was aware of was Plagg slapping his cheek with his little paws. He looked down at him disoriented.

"Finally! I was seriously considering biting you." He scrunched his tiny nose. "I shudder just thinking about it. My mouth is reserved to cheese only."

"Wha- She- How- What?"

The black Kwami rolled his eyes. "For being such a smart boy, you can be really stupid sometimes. Your princess is your bug. The end. Hooray. Now, could you close your mouth and transform so we can kick that Akuma's ass?"

He shut his mouth automatically, his teeth clinking because of it and he shook his head, trying to put aside his confusion and awe because he _couldn't be that lucky_ and-

Right. The Akuma.

He muttered the words mechanically and seconds later Chat Noir was jumping from cage to cage, trying to spot the red-clad hero – that was Marinette, holy- and hopefully the Akuma.

And it seemed that, once again and against everyone's belief, he was a lucky cat. Because there it was M-Ladybug, standing between Kim and a talking panther. It wasn't too wild to assume he was the Akumatised victim.

Then Kim bolted to the side and the panther began following him. Ladybug, in a demonstration of quick reflexes and agility, took her yoyo and threw it at the panther, the hard string tangling around the animal and successfully stopping him on his tracks and capturing him.

He took a deep breath to calm his erratic heart and spoke up, trying to hide that minutes ago he'd received the mental whiplash of the century – _because oh my god, Marinette was- and she probably knew that he_ \- and feigning nonchalance.

"I see that you've got everything under control, my Lady." _Even my heart._

She looked up at where Chat was perched on top of one of the cages and smiled with a knowing smile that did things to him.

"Took you long enough, _Chaton_. What was holding you up?" She asked smugly.

Sweet mother of Jesus, she was going to kill him.

He jumped down and landed beside her, his mind whirling. He shook his head to clear it; they had an Akuma to cleanse.

"Later?" He asked, his voice conveying every ounce of confusion, awe, hope and worry he felt at that moment.

She nodded, a soft smile that was distinctly Marinette's on her lips. "Later." She promised.

* * *

When he said 'later' he hadn't expected to _nearly lose her to a bloody T-Rex._

Watching how the ridiculously big predator closed his mouth around her had almost broken him to pieces. He'd lost her, and after all his searching, all his yearning for the girl under the mask, he couldn't believe she'd slip through his fingers just when he'd found her – or she'd found him, to be more precise.

But then, the dinosaur's mouth opened slowly and he realized it was just another one of her crazy plans. He observed her as she took his bracelet and broke it, releasing the Akuma, then proceeded to cleanse it. She waved the while butterfly goodbye and then looked back at him in confusion, seeing that, indeed, he hadn't moved an inch.

She made her way in front of him, worry marring her face. "Chat, wha-"

"Marinette!" He cried as he hugged her. He wasn't able to supress his trembling as he held her against him, desperate to feel her breathing and _alive_ , to erase those terrifying images from his mind.

Some part of him was afraid of her pulling away, but after some moments of surprise from her side, he felt her returning the hug, one hand resting on his shoulder blades and the other on his nape, her fingers playing absentmindedly with his hair in a very familiar way. They understood each other perfectly, even without words; she knew he needed the reassurance, so she let him.

The beeping of his miraculous startled both of them and they pulled apart slightly, their hands never stopping touching the other. He looked down at her amused gaze and rosy cheeks, something he'd never been able to see in the hero, and he was reminded of something rather important.

"Is it later yet?"

She mused. "Yeah, I guess. We need a bit of privacy, though. You want to come to my place?"

He let her go and bowed dramatically. "Lead the way, my Lady."

She unclasped her yoyo resting around her hips and tied it to the nearest building, taking off without looking behind. He followed quickly, counting the seconds he had left until his transformation faded. Luckily, they made it to the roof of her room seconds before it dropped.

Ladybug gasped at the sight of Chat Noir turning into Adrien Agreste, and chuckled lightly. "God. Even though I knew what was coming it still surprised me."

"Then you can guess what your transformation did to me, Marinette. I wasn't expecting it at all!"

She dropped her transformation, her hair loose again. He'd just seen the process two times, but he was sure he would never get tired of seeing it. She smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry?"

She didn't look sorry at all.

She opened the hatch to her room and dropped down her bed, then to her room. Adrien followed her, closing the hatch behind him and observing how she snatched some cookies from a jar and gave one to Tikki, who gladly accepted it.

"Um, does your Kwami want something?"

He rubbed his neck, suddenly nervous. "Ah… some cheese would be okay."

"Not _some cheese_!" Plagg's tiny head poked up from his shirt, scowling. "Camembert. I am a cat with standards."

"Plagg!" He hissed.

She laughed. "It's fine. I think we have some Camembert left, I can go get it for you. Do you mind waiting a little?"

Plagg squealed and dashed out of Adrien's shirt, floating in front of Marinette's face. "I don't mind waiting, Princess. But come back soon." He then nuzzled her cheek with his, purring grateful. Once Marinette left the room, Plagg spoke up, not even turning around. "Boy, remember all the times I complained about your sappiness? Forget it all. Also, marry her as soon as possible. She gives me cheese. She'll take care of me properly."

Adrien spluttered, his cheeks reddening furiously. "Plagg!"

"You haven't changed a bit, Plagg." The red Kwami said from where she was sitting, tiny cookie crumbles around her mouth. She looked at the blond boy and rubbed them off, smiling. "Hi! I don't think we've been introduced yet. My name's Tikki, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Adrien."

He looked at the red Kwami. She had big blue eyes and an earnest smile, and he couldn't help to be reminded of her wielder. Both of them were adorable.

"Likewise."

The hatch opened at that moment and Marinette stepped in the room, a dish on her hand. She placed on the table beside Tikki, and Adrien could feel the cat Kwami physically repressing himself from pouncing towards the food, something new in him.

"That's all I could find. There wasn't much Camembert left, so I grabbed some cheese scones from the _patisserie_. I hope you don't mind?"

Plagg yowled in delight and let himself tackle the pastries, biting off half of one scone in one bite. He chewed happily, humming in delight.

"Remember what I told you before, kid." He said after gulping down. Marinette looked at him questioningly, and he hoped his cheeks weren't as red as he felt them.

"So," He said, leaning on the chaise and pulling out one of his modelling poses, trying to appear calm and collected, something that he really wasn't feeling. At all. "What gave me away?"

"Oh, right." She frowned lightly, trying to come up with the best way of explaining it. "It was a lot of little things, really. There were times when I saw something of Adrien in Chat, and something of Chat in you; I was really confused by that, but I didn't make the connexion until I noticed your ring, to be honest."

"My ring?" He looked down at the silver Miraculous.

She nodded. "The other night, when you grabbed my hand as Chat it reminded me of the time you grabbed it as Adrien, that same afternoon. I hadn't even realized you two had a ring on the same finger until then."

He reached for her ears and put aside her bangs, looking at her black earrings – some part of him was swooning for finally touching her silky hair, but he paid no mind to that. "Huh, now that you say so, I didn't noticed your earrings either. I suppose it's the Miraculous' magic?" He couldn't help but grin saucily at her blushing face. She swatted his hand away.

"I-I suppose. Maybe that's why anyone notice our striking resemblance to Paris' famous superheroes… maybe there's some kind of… glamour or something, keeping everyone for finding out, even _Alya_. Even I wouldn't have given it a second thought if someone had stuck to his alibi." She teased.

He frowned in confusion. "What?"

"Last week, at the Gamer, Chat said he'd saved Adrien before _and_ after saving me from the Akuma, something that struck me as odd, because why would Chat lie to me? Then I noticed the ring, and everything started adding up."

"So you…" He smirked, and her eyes widened in realisation, but she was a second too late to stop him. "… connected the dots?"

He got the reaction he was looking for. She groaned at his horrible pun.

"God, that was awful. Why do I even let you come into my room?"

"Well, for starters, I'm a dashing superhero that saves Paris in his spare time. Who wouldn't invite Chat Noir to their homes? Moreover, I'm a trained cat, I don't make a mess in exchange of a pat in the head."

"You're horrible, that's what you are. And a handful."

He leaned forward, his eyes glinting teasingly. "Oh, I don't think you mean that, Princess. Why would you have a framed picture of me then?"

Adrien had never seen her face as red as it was at that moment. Her eyes widened and darted from his mischievous grin to the basket where he'd seen the picture, then to his face again. Her mouth opened, but only a soft squeal came out of it.

"Y-y-you saw that?" She stuttered.

"Yep."

"Ah- w-when?"

"When I visited you as Chat."

She groaned loudly and buried her head on her hands, letting herself drop on the chaise. "God, this is so embarrassing. Let me crawl into a hole and die."

"Hey, don't do that. I wouldn't be able to see you pretty face if you did." She whimpered softly, her hands still on her red face. He kept on, kneeling in front of her. "Moreover, you'd laugh at me if you saw how much Ladybug merch I have in my room, really."

"A complete shrine in your honour, bug." Plagg quipped from the table. Adrien glared at him.

"She didn't _need the details_ , Plagg." She still didn't move her hands from her face, but he could grasp the ghost of a smile on what he could see from her lips. He placed a hand on her cheek, dropping the joking tone. "Come on, my Lady, let me see you. Please."

That seemed to do the trick, and she slowly dropped her hands, her eyes meeting his shyly. She bit her lip but her eyes didn't waver, holding his gaze and almost daring him to drop it, a mix from her both sides that drove him crazy.

"Hello." He muttered, a soft smile on his lips.

"Hello." She answered, replying with a smile on her own.

He gazed at her lovingly, cataloguing her every freckle and the softness of her skin, something he hadn't been able to do until then.

"There are so many things I want to tell you, Marinette… so many things I've wanted to say, to do, but I didn't have the chance to do so. But that's changed now, now that we both know who we are. And I don't think I'll be able to pretend to be 'Perfect Adrien' around you anymore, not after all that."

She leaned on his hand. "Good, because I don't want you to be 'Perfect Adrien' anymore. I want you to be yourself, _Chaton_ , you don't have to pretend in front of me."

Warmth ran through him at her words, and he embraced her, feeling her against him, her hands immediately finding their rightful place and caressing the back of his head, earning a soft purr in return.

"I'm so happy it's you, Marinette. I'm so, so happy right now." He whispered against her hair. It smelt really sweet, just like her.

"Me too." She put a bit of distance between them so she could look at him. "last week, when I started looking for any sign of you being my _Chaton_ I just… I wished so badly for it to be true. I didn't want it to be anyone else. Not any other boy from school, not a complete stranger. I wanted you to be Chat Noir."

"Why?"

"I couldn't imagine having our relationship with anyone else. I trust you with my life, Adrien, and imagining this with anyone else feels wrong."

"Good." He growled and tightened his grip on her. "Because you don't need anyone else. You have me now."

She giggled. "Possessive much?"

He shrugged. "It's your fault, my Lady. You've found me, so now how do you expect this alley cat to control himself around you? "

"Hmm, is that so?" She leaned closer to him.

"Yep. This cat's come to stay." He leaned forward too, his eyes closing, and the tip of their noses touched.

"Good. Hey, you know what?" She whispered against his lips.

"What?" He asked, barely able to have coherent thought.

"I love you."

Okay, now he was 100% unable of coherent though.

"Good. Because I love you too."

And he closed the distance between the two of them, their mouths finally joining. Marinette let out a little moan that urged him to press himself against her, cradling her head with his hands and tilting slightly her head until they found a posture comfortable for both of them.

Her lips tasted of cherries, and Adrien couldn't get enough of them. He nipped her lower lip to deepen the kiss and she responded eagerly, her grip tightening on the back of his head and flushing herself against him. She was sweet and spicy at the same time, and he wouldn't mind to drown in her lips.

He softened the kiss slowly, letting both of them catch their breath and their lips finally separated, Adrien resting his forehead against Marinette's, his eyes still closed. When he opened them, he was proud to see her half-lidded eyes, still hazy from the kiss. He was about to kiss her again when a ring startled them both.

Marinette opened her eyes and looked for her phone in her purse, Adrien's hands still on her hips, and her eyes widened when she saw who was calling.

"Alya!" She exclaimed. "I'd completely forgot about her! I locked her and Nino inside one of the animals' cage."

"Well, answer her." He sat on the chaise and tugged her towards him until she was sitting on his lap. She raised an eyebrow at him, the phone still ringing on her hand, and he threw her an innocent smile. "My knees were hurting from kneeling on the floor."

"That doesn't explain why I am in your lap, or does it?"

He nodded at the phone. "She's gonna hung up."

She rolled her eyes, but made no move to climb down his lap, something he counted as a little victory. She answered the call and put her phone on her ear.

"Alya! Are you okay? I'm sorry I left the zoo, but there was an Akuma and-" He could hear Alya answering from the other side, but he couldn't make up the words. Marinette's lips quirked up, and he could see she was struggling to conceal her amusement. "So Ladybug threw you and Nino inside a cage? Are you still in there? Do you need me to go get you out?"

She paused, listening to what Alya was saying. "Oh, so you're out? And where's Nino? Is he with- wait, what was that?" A pause. Her eyes widened. "Was that my mother? A-are you here? Are you in my house!?"

She didn't react fast enough, as Alya opened the hatch connecting her room and the rest of the house, and looked at the frozen teens with wide eyes. A soft smile made its way on the future journalist's face.

"Well, well, well. Look at that, Nino. We were locked in a cage, but look who was all cosy and lovey-dovey."

Nino's head popped up from the hole of the floor. "Duuuuude, when did that happen?"

Marinette groaned and buried her head on his shoulder, not even half ready to have that conversation, and Adrien could relate to her. They hadn't even come to terms to where they stood, he wasn't ready to pop up the news to them. Heck, they were lucky their Kwamis had reacted way faster than their wielders.

"So we'd come to check on you, but I see you're… _busy._ Don't mind us. We're leaving, right Nino?"

"Totally. See you later, bro, Marinette."

Marinette groaned again. Alya closed the hatch behind her, leaving both superheroes alone in her room once again.

"Just kill me now." She muttered against him.

"How many times I have to repeat myself, Princess? If I kill you I won't be able to see you again, and that won't do."

She hit him half-heartedly. "It's your fault, you mangy cat."

He chuckled. "Worth it."

She pulled apart from him. "Shut up."

"Make me." He dared.

She did, and in a way that was quickly becoming his favourite. They still had a lot to talk about, from where their relationship laid to what would they do about Hawkmoth, but all that could wait for an hour.

Marinette bit his lip teasingly and sucked lightly.

Ah… make that two hours.


End file.
